The success of Juventus was built on taking the business know-how from the Fiat company to the football club, but the American owner at Roma has failed to do the same.

The departure of Totti could be the straw that breaks the owner's back. Many Roma fans now want him to fail at rebuilding the club.

The past decade has not been kind to Roman citizens. Garbage has been piling up in the piazzas, mafia infiltration seems to have paralysed City Hall and its politicians, never-ending strikes have made the already dodgy public transport system even more vulnerable, and, indeed, like the once so magnificent empire from which it takes its name, the city has crumbled to a deadly cocktail of neglect, mismanagement and corruption.

However, the Romans always had Totti to allow them to forget about all their problems.